Lighting Matches
by Infinite Inficio
Summary: Mizumachi's words always stung. Kakei's never did– they burned. But how can she be fired up if the flame hasn't been lighted? [Centered on Kyoshin Poseidon's manager, Shibuya Maki]
1. 01: Introducing Shibuya

_A Short Introduction: Who is Shibuya Maki?_

_Shibuya Maki is the manager of Kyoshin Poseidon. Apparently, she is a night owl, and comes home at 5 AM. Since she takes six hours to put on her make-up, **this does not work out**. Therefore, she only comes to school once every two days, and everything goes well enough. Not enough information? Well, that's all there is on her! But hopefully, you wouldn't mind reading the story, anyway. There will be at least 10 chapters, and they vary in length. Enjoy!_

_Pairings: Slight Kakei/Shibuya, even less Mizumachi/Shibuya, and Otohime's crush on him is also mentioned._

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**/// 1**

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She wasn't exactly sure when she started to take six hours to put on her make-up and since when 5 AM became the time she got home. Shibuya estimated that it was between the time when her marks shot down and her parents started to forget she was a member of their household, but she wasn't so sure.

What she was sure of, however, was when she started to put on half the amount of eyeliner she usually did before and when she started (trying) to wash clothes and clean tables (_still _not doing well).

It was when she became the manager of Kyoshin High School's American football team.

It wasn't like she _cared_ for the sport, or even _anyone_ in the team. When she joined, they were all nervous-looking losers (on second thought, the only nervous-looking loser was Kobanzame-senpai), except for one – this certain someone was being picky in recruiting new members, and only wanted tall people to join the team.

Except that she wouldn't have noticed anything, if she was actually paying attention to where she was going. Then she wouldn't be walking for a moment before being on the floor, covered with pamphlets the next, and he wouldn't have helped her up.

"Watch where you're going," she muttered, even though back then, she knew that the statement should've been directed at her own stupid self.

She dusted the dirt off her skirt, and picked up the pamphlet next to her feet. _"American football?"_

Maybe it was her fault for asking about American football and a bit of his when he told her that they needed a manager. Actually, maybe she should blame it all on him because if his politeness didn't make her have hope in the human race once more she wouldn't have cared at all.

The next week, she burst through the door of the American football club room.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, before the words actually came out of her mouth.

"You need a manager, right?"

She looked at the club room – they seem to be managing well enough without a manager, but she wasn't going to back out now.

"But I can't clean or anything! I'm really new at this kind of thing!"

Then _he_ stood up.

"That just means you have to learn," he told her.

Probably he told other girls about the manager position, and none except her actually gave it a shot. It was likely that she was accepted out of desperation, but she couldn't help but feel needed.

"I can learn by myself! I don't need guys to teach me!" she huffed.

"That's fine."

She gulped.

She shouldn't have let her pride get in the way.

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_-senpai: Added at the end of names for seniors_

_Reviews are really appreciated!_


	2. 02: Work Underappreciated

_A few months later, before the Autumn Tournament has started._

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**/// 2****

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**

"Huh? So you _have_ cleaned the club room?"

"Let's see," Shibuya breathed heavily. "I -- spent hours -- I mopped the floor -- wiped the dirt off _everything_ -- also -- I sorted out the info -- on the -- previous match."

"Well, _yeah_, I guess I have." But it was the first time she actually did it, unless the times she wiped the tables sloppily and sorted sheets of paper into messy piles counted.

It seemed that Mizumachi didn't catch the sarcasm in her voice, because he just nodded (not-quite) understandingly in reply.

"Oh! I thought you haven't, because _everything_ looks the same! Haha! You got me!"

She froze. (This was worse than when he told her that her make-up was overdone)

"Is… Is that so?"

"Well… yeah!" he replied, a little _too_ cheerfully.

There was certainly no sarcasm in _his_ voice.

_Mizumachi's words always stung._ It wasn't that he was being mean or his words were coated in hatred.

"Mop the floor for me, Mizumachi," she muttered, before leaving the club room.

"Huh? Wait! Where are you going?" Mizumachi called out, but was left with no answer and a mop in his possession. He scratched his head, confused.

"Aw man… She's not a very good manager, is she?" he whined, yet started mopping the floor anyway.

Shibuya wished she ran out of the room to the football field instead of leaning on the door like what she was doing – she didn't need to hear that.

_It's because it's the truth that it stung_.

-

She sighed as she sat on the bench, watching the football practice being carried out. Kakei was berating Mizumachi for being late (she would've intervened and said that it was her fault, but Mizumachi handled it well enough – he simply grinned and said "Sorry!" cheekily).

Mizumachi had been doing _very_ well since it was his first week in the American football club (if she didn't know him, she wouldn't have believed that he never played football before). He became a better lineman than the shorter upperclassmen within the short span of time.

After a month, he was certainly doing much better – he improved at an unbelievably fast rate, while the seniors like Kobanzame-senpai were having trouble catching up.

She felt somewhat sorry for them, but it wasn't like she could do _anything_ to help.

-

"So… We're… finished?" Kobanzame-senpai asked hopefully. His face was completely red, with sweat running down it, and he was holding onto his friend's shoulder – it seemed that his legs gave out on him (they'd been doing that quite often since Mizumachi joined).

Kakei paused, before he heaved a sigh.

"You're the team captain. You should be the one who decides," he replied.

Kobanzame-senpai laughed nervously. "Haha! That might be so… it's not like I _forgot_ about it or anything! I was just about to say… umm… I think I should let the first-years decide! I mean, if you guys still want to train, us upperclassmen won't hold you back! Heh…"

(Mizumachi was still running around happily)

It was obvious that Kobanzame-senpai couldn't take the amount of training that Mizumachi wanted for the team, and Kakei was one of the many who noticed.

He nodded, and smiled at the team captain's ecstatic grin. "Mizumachi, you can stop running laps now," he called out to the field.

"Aww… but I've just started!"

"You've done over twenty already," she spoke up, saving the bother of doing so for Kakei.

Kakei glanced at her for a few seconds, before turning towards his team-mates once more and she wondered whether it was his silent way of thanking her.

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_Reviews would be lovely!_


	3. 03: Second Verse, Same as the First

/// 3

"Shibuya…" Kakei started. "Did you forget to clean up the club room?"

She looked up from her mobile phone. "Like hell I did. I spent _hours_ on it."

She knew she wasn't exactly an expert on cleaning, though, so she wasn't surprised he didn't notice.

"Oh," he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well… umm… good job on the floor."

"Mizumachi mopped it," she told truthfully, "so tell _him_ instead."

Kakei pretended he didn't hear that.

"So… where's the info on Hashiratani?"

"Umm…. I was so sure that I put it on the table…"

---

"Everybody started changing their clothes already. You should too."

Kakei turned away from the sheets of paper he was holding – (upon closer inspection, it was data on Hashiratani's matches in the Spring Tournament. Apparently, he managed to find it himself) – "I want to look through these first. We're going to face them when the Autumn Tournament starts."

"Hmph, they're just a bunch of football-obsessed losers," she mumbled, as the writing "Message Sent" appeared on the screen of her mobile phone.

Kakei frowned disapprovingly. "If you put it that way, then I guess I'm one of those football-obsessed losers. So are the determined people in our team. Would you say that they don't play football well? "

Shibuya merely gave out a "tch" before reading the reply to her SMS.

---

"_Syaa!_ Kakei! You should hurry up and change!" Mizumachi yelled, as he burst through the door.

"_WAHH!_"

Shibuya, surprised at his sudden arrival (or maybe it was just because he was only in his boxers), let her mobile phone fall out of her hand – just like the sheets of paper that Kakei was holding previously.

They both picked up the fallen objects embarrassedly.

"Hurry, Kakei! Change your clothes because you definitely _stink_!"

"Rather than that, you should put on some clothes!" they both yelled with flushed faces.

Shibuya flushed once more, but she wasn't sure why.

---

"Kakei…"

"Hm?"

"You should go home now. I know that you've changed your clothes already, but… everyone else already went."

"Aren't _you_ going home, Shibuya?" he asked. "It's getting dark outside."

She crossed her leg, and folded her arms.

"My parents aren't even home yet," she scoffed. "In fact, if they _are_ home, they wouldn't notice if I'm not home yet."

"That's not the problem," he replied, not taking his eye off whatever he was concentrating on (and whatever it was, it was emitting strange squeaky noises).

"Kakei." She uncrossed her leg, stood up, and tried to get a closer look at what he was doing.

"_What_ are you doing?"

"Wiping the dust off the table. It seems that you forgot to do so while you were cleaning up this afternoon. It's an easy thing to miss."

"…"

Maybe it would've been better if she didn't ask.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said dryly, but Kakei didn't catch the sarcasm in her voice either.


	4. 04: Slight Improvement

"Am I that bad of a manager?"

Shibuya looked up to see his reaction. The expression on his face was serious as usual, but she knew that he was pondering on what to say.

Kakei was different to Mizumachi in so many ways, but they were also similar in things other than their determination to reach the top.

For example, neither took lying as an option.

The only difference in that is that Kakei knows about the option of staying quiet, while Mizumachi is seemingly unaware of it.

Shibuya quickened her pace, trying to keep up with the boy, who had (much) longer legs. She wondered what he would do if he was cornered to answer like this, as she looked up, yet not quite meeting his eyes.

"Well… Firstly, your organising and cleaning skills are unsatisfactory and you don't seem to improve after months. To add on to that, you only come to the afternoon practices once every two days—"

'_I only come to __**school**__ once every two days,'_ she thought gloomily.

"— the condition of the club room didn't significantly improve since you joined. In fact, it might've gotten worse since information on the other teams _have_ been going missing. You have a lot to work on."

Kakei's words never stung— they _burn_.

She looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze anymore.

"Oh. I… thought so…"

Kakei narrowed his eyes at her, before looking away.

"There's always room for improvement."

Shibuya was glad he turned away – otherwise, he would've seen how red her face became.

"It's late," she spoke up. "Let's go home."

"Hey, Ma—ki..."

Shibuya _really_ couldn't be bothered with _them_ at the moment.

"What is it _now_?"

"We're missing one of our girls right now. Can you get over here within an hour?"

"_There's always room for improvement,"_ Kakei's words came to her mind.

Shibuya paused, before replying. "Get someone else. I can't come tonight."

"_What?_ Wait—"

She hung up before he could force her to change her mind.

Shibuya yawned, and headed to bed before it got _too_ late.

"Eh? But it's Wednesday!" Mizumachi exclaimed.

"Yes, it is," Kakei added.

"So?"

"You usually only come on Tuesdays and–"

"Don't get anything wrong!" she interrupted. "I only came today because it was too late to do the laundry yesterday! I even cancelled an important appointment for today!"

Not that, being with those people was _important_.

"But… you're still gonna come on Wednesdays, right?" Mizumachi asked excitedly.

"Um…"

Kakei gave her a pat on the shoulder, before heading towards the other players to discuss next week's game plan. "Good job."

Shibuya couldn't help but smile.

"Well, it's great that you're gonna come on Wednesdays!" Mizumachi cheered, taking her silence as a yes, before joining Kakei.

(She had to restrain herself from grinning any wider)

"What."

"We have a practice match against Tamagawa Blue Sharks tomorrow. I expect you to come and record the match."

"Wait… what."

"It's nothing new for you, is it?"

"You _know_ I don't come on Wednesdays."

"I have to say that last week's incident disproves your statement, Shibuya," Kakei said coolly.

"That was only once!"

"Mizumachi doesn't believe so."

Shibuya bit her lip at the mention of the trusting boy's name, but regained her composure.

"… But this time, I really, _really_ have important business," she lied; in what she believed to be a convincing way.

"He's really excited about this match."

"Mizumachi?"

"Who else?"

"So what if he is? He's excited about almost every single match. It's not like I'm even interested in him or anything. But the point is, Kakei, I won't come to this match, okay?"

(She didn't think she was as convincing as before this time)

_I'm disappointed in you, Shibuya._

She expected him to say it, but he did no such thing. He didn't even say, "I expected more from you" or frown disapprovingly.

"I thought you would say that," he replied. "I'll see you on Thursday, then. You could sort out the data, at least."

She was left speechless, as he waved, before exiting the club room.

She plopped down on a chair. She didn't need to wonder what she did wrong; she already knew what it was.


End file.
